Coronavirus

The government instructed all upper tier local authorities (County Councils and Unitary authorities) to produce a Local Outbreak Management Plan by the end of June 2020. Local authorities have a significant role to play in the identification and management of COVID-19 outbreaks and Local Outbreak Management Plans ensure that any local outbreak is responded to swiftly, protecting communities and helping prevent the spread of the virus. Both local authorities have now published their plans - you can read the Wiltshire Council Local Outbreak Management Plans here and the Swindon Borough Council Local Outbreak Management Plans

Wiltshire Police is committed to the safety of the public and the safety and wellbeing of all our police officers, staff and volunteers.

Over recent weeks we have developed an organisational risk assessment and have put in place a number of measures to help keep the public, our officers and staff safe.

• Since 17 March we have encouraged our employees to work from home wherever possible.
• We have undertaken personal risk assessments for our vulnerable employees, including those who were shielding, those who have vulnerable family members at home and our BAME colleagues.
• For those who cannot work from home due to the nature of their job, we have put in place a number of measures to help keep them safe. This has included a reduction in the number of workstations, so people sit at least 2 metres apart, and personal issue PPE for those who require it as determined by our risk assessment.

We have undertaken Covid -Secure installations and certification for all our buildings and joint premises including:

• We have temporarily re-opened a number of our satellite stations to physically separate our operational teams to further enable social distancing.
• We have introduced strict social distancing and hygiene measures across our estates, which includes an increase in cleaning.
• We have hand sanitiser and cleaning products placed across our estate.
• We have implemented new floor markings and signage, to encourage safe movement around our buildings.
• All operational officers and staff have each been issued personal issue PPE including facemasks, eye protection, aprons, nitrile gloves and hand sanitiser.
• Where possible, our officers remain working in the same pairings on shift when double-crewed in police vehicles.

The very nature of police work means we, on occasion, have to have some physical contact with members of the public, so we have put in place a number of measures to help keep people safe, including in our public areas.

If you need to visit a police station or another of our buildings, for whatever reason, we want you to be reassured that we have been following the Government advice to make our estates as safe as possible.

Front counters:

At the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic we closed our public front counters at our police stations to minimise the risks to our officers and staff and, in turn, help keep the public safe. During that time we encouraged people to engage with us through other methods, including via our 101 and 999 phone lines, and our website.

We now believe it is safe for some of our front counters to be reopened - although we would continue to encourage people to use other forms of contact wherever possible.

In our front counters you will see the following measures:

• We have hand sanitiser and cleaning products in place to be used by both the public and officers and staff.
• We have installed Perspex Covid screens to minimise the transfer of airborne droplets.
• You may see some of our police officers and staff wearing masks and gloves if they feel it is appropriate. Please do not be alarmed, this is designed to help keep us all safe.
• We have implemented new floor markings and signage, to encourage safe movement and allow people to keep a safe distance from others while waiting. We would ask you to please adhere to these markings and signs if you are visiting one of our buildings, and thank you in advance for your co-operation.

Custody suites:

• We have hand sanitiser placed across our estates to be used by those working in custody and members of the public who have been brought in to the custody environment.
• We also have an enhanced cleaning process in place to ensure that surfaces are disinfected frequently.
• You may see some of our police officers and staff wearing masks and gloves if they feel it is appropriate. Please do not be alarmed, this is designed to help keep us all safe.

Further guidance